Each day, Filipinos scroll, swipe and click through endless streams of information. But in the same speed that facts spread, so do lies. Lies and disinformation remain among the biggest threats to public trust and national unity.
That is why the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., through the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), has placed truth and transparency at the heart of governance.
Developing Digital Defenders
Through its Media and Information Literacy (MIL) campaign, the PCO is preparing Filipinos to recognize and resist disinformation. To date:
• 1,600 students have been trained in fact-checking at campus caravans
• 75 fact-check officers are mobilized nationwide; and
• 134 teachers capacitated with MIL teaching modules
The best weapon against disinformation is a citizenry that can tell fact from fiction.
Anchored on Transparency
Regular Palace briefings guarantee timely official statements and clarifications on key issues from the Office of the President and the PCO.
The BBM Podcast series gives Filipinos direct access to the President’s official sentiments on key issues—bringing leadership closer to the people.
To ensure that truth reaches every Filipino, the PCO has integrated the news gathering resources of its attached agencies: People’s Television Network, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, Radyo Pilipinas, Philippine Information Agency and Philippine News Agency. Working as the Integrated State Media (ISM), these platforms operate synergistically to deliver accurate and consistent news and unified messaging across the government’s television, radio, print and digital channels.
Communications workshops aligned with the administration’s 8-point socio-economic agenda capacitate and equip government information officers, state and private media practitioners with the right tools to interpret government policies and data to better convey the status of development priorities, programs and projects that uplift the lives of Filipinos.
Through partnerships with various government agencies, the PCO also strengthens defenses against fake news and disinformation during major national events.
Reaching More Filipinos
Finally, the Freedom of Information Program Management Office (FOI-PMO) ensures every Filipino has access to government data:
• 355,579 registered eFOI users nationwide
• 248,958 requests filed online and 205,921 paper-based requests
• 98% response rate, with requests processed in just 8 working days
• 725 agencies onboard the portal
Because the truth must always be accessible to the people.
When lies spread fast, truth must travel faster.